A distinctive feature of the sport of soccer is the use of the head to forcefully direct the ball. The potential for brain and neck injury from many impacts of the head against the soccer ball has been the subject of numerous medical investigations over the past twenty years. Most of these studies have found evidence of physical damage from the accumulative effect of repeatedly heading the ball.
Several studies of former professional soccer players found evidence of neuropsychologic deficits which were attributed to multiple minor impacts while heading the soccer ball, Sortland O, Tysvaer At: Brain damage in former association football players, An evaluation by cerebral computed tomography, Neuroradiology 31: 44-48, (1989); Tysvaer A T, Lochen E A: Soccer injuries to the brain, A neuropsychologic study of former soccer players, American Journal of Sports Medicine 19: 56-60, (1991); and Tysvaer At, Storli Ov: Soccer injuries to the brain, A neurologic and electroencephalographic study of active football players, American Journal of Sports Medicine 17: 573-578, (1989).
A very recent study, using MRI imaging of the brain, found a very high incidence of small brain lesions in active soccer players compared with the same incidence in non-athletes and in American football players. The type of lesions discovered have been associated with "subtle cognitive dysfunctions" in otherwise healthy individuals, T. Autti; L. Sipila; H. Autti; O. Salonen, Brain lesions in players of contact sports, (Research Letters) The Lancet, Apr. 19, 1997, v349, n9059, p1144.
Several medical studies have found evidence of accumulative damage to the necks of soccer players, which has also been attributed to heading the soccer ball on a repeated basis, Soppetta C. Vaccario M L: Central cervical cord syndrome after heading a football, Lancet 1 (8076): 1269, (1978); and Sortland O, Tysvaer A T, Storli O V: Changes in the cervical spine in association football players, British Journal of Sports Medicine 16: 80-84, (1982). Another study finds degeneration in the necks of professional soccer players in the U.S., The Back Letter, September 1997, v12, p99.
As a result of these and other medical findings, there has been a growing concern about the possible negative effects of heading the soccer ball and widespread discussions on the possible need for protective headgear of some sort.
In general, protective headgear of the known types are not readily adaptable to the game of soccer. Elaborate helmets do not comport with Soccer's tradition of toughness and are deemed unacceptable. In addition, any protective headgear must meet at least three criteria, viz, the headgear must be aesthetically acceptable, provide impact protection while at the same time maintaining the desired rebound of the soccer ball when headed by the wearer.
The invention presented here is intended to fill this real and perceived need within the sport of soccer.